


Nightmares

by Zhenya71



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: AU, Ficlet, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2014-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-27 11:26:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2691161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zhenya71/pseuds/Zhenya71
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a short ficlet, based on a dream. I might write more in this universe, but I think it will be pretty painful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Though I don't think it really matters for this short narrative, the AU versions of Tony and Steve in this are slightly different from their canon counterparts. Tony is about twenty or so, here, being born later in this timeline. Steve was found sooner, and has been out of the ice for a couple of years now. He's the leader of the team, still, and also highly ranked within SHIELD, going by Commander Rogers rather then Captain Rogers. I think the narrative makes fairly clear the nature of his and Tony's relationship, though I do have some ideas for expanding on all of this. This needed to be written, I'll see if more follows.

Tony twitched, slitting open his eyes and blinking into the darkness of his bedroom. Groggy, his mind fogged with sleep and Percocet, he lay still, trying to work out what woke him. His eyes were drooping closed again, when a low, guttural sound of pain came from behind him and he tensed, waking up a bit more. Fuck. Steve was having a nightmare. 

Blowing out a little breath, Tony shifted in the bed, twisting to turn over to his other side and wincing at the aches and pains when he moved. Blinking a few times to try and see better in the dark, Tony studied the man sleeping next to him warily. Steve wasn’t moving, almost unnaturally still in sleep, his breathing deep and even. Tony’s spine started to relax some as he watched, only to tense right back up again when Steve twitched jerkily, another ragged sound rumbling in his throat.

Tony chewed his lower lip, before whispering, “Lights to five percent.” The voice activated system he’d designed responded right away, bringing the lights up just enough for Tony to see Steve more clearly. The Commander was tense, his eyes moving rapidly behind closed lids, and as Tony watched, he twitched again, lip lifting slightly to bare his teeth.

“Fuck,” Tony whispered, swallowing hard. He considered slipping out of bed and retreating to his workshop, but the low, anguished sound that spilled from Steve changed his mind as it made something ache in his chest. He ducked his head, just breathing for a moment, before shifting to scoot a little closer. After another hesitation, he reached out a trembling hand to splay his palm over Steve’s heart. 

This could go bad, and Tony knew it. There was absolutely no way to predict how the Commander would react when it came to nightmares or a PTSD episode. Sometimes he lashed out, viciously – Tony once wound up with a broken jaw for his efforts – and sometimes Tony could comfort him, to an extent. 

“It’s all right,” Tony murmured, his fingers cold with fear where they pressed against the almost too hot warmth of Steve’s skin. “It’s okay, Steve, you’re safe. You’re safe at home, nothing’s going to hurt you.” 

Steve jerked again, an angry growl rumbling in his throat this time, and Tony’s stomach tightened as a little voice in the back of his head yelled at him to get the hell out of bed and as far away from Steve as he could get. He stayed put, swallowing hard again, and then scooted just a bit closer, rubbing his palm in a circle over Steve’s heart. “Easy,” he murmured, trying to keep his tone soothing and unthreatening. “Easy, Steve. You’re okay. I promise, you’re okay.”

Steve jerked hard under Tony’s hand, a louder sound of anger and pain escaping him, and then he sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes snapping open, his pupils so dilated that Tony couldn’t see any blue. Tony resisted the instinct to jerk back, holding himself almost unnaturally still, though he couldn’t stop the tremble in the hand on Steve’s chest. He had to swallow hard, twice, his throat too tight to speak right away. “It’s just me,” he whispered. “It’s just me, Steve. Nothing can hurt you. You’re safe.”

Steve tensed, muscles bunching and shifting, his gaze shifting to Tony, staring at him for a long moment. Then he moved, without warning, and Tony bit back a yelp of alarm as Steve’s arms went around him and he suddenly found himself with a lap full of super soldier, Steve’s face against his stomach. 

Tony exhaled a shaky breath, some of his fear easing, and he leaned forward over Steve, stroking a hand over damp blond hair and down his tense spine, carefully avoiding touching the back of his neck. “You’re all right,” he whispered. “Easy, Steve. Everything’s going to be all right.” 

Of course, nothing was all right, it never was; but for now, Tony could let go of some of his fear and some of the ache in his chest as he did what he could to comfort the damaged man half in his lap.


End file.
